Raising Serena

by alexofthegarden

They knew how much they would love watching their daughter grow. But Kurt and Blaine didn't realize how amazing it would be to grow along with her. "You Are Mine" Sequel.

10. How Far I'll Go

Author's Note:

Well hello everyone! When I look at the date I last posted, I can't believe it has been that long. This chapter was I think the hardest one I have ever written and I'm not even sure why. The good news is that I ended up splitting this chapter, so the next one has a significant portion already written. So I really, really hope to not leave you waiting for too long.

Serena sings in this chapter. If you aren't familiar, please check out Claire Ryann (Claire and the Crosbys) on youtube. Her version of How Far I'll Go, from Moana, is Serena's version.

---

I've been staring at the edge of the water
'Long as I can remember, never really knowing why

Every turn I take, every trail I track
Every path I make, every road leads back
To the place I know, where I cannot go, where I long to be

~ Disney's Moana

---

Kurt paced. The fact was, he'd hadn't felt this nervous in a long time. It was silly, he knew, especially since he had nothing to be nervous for. Everything was perfect, every word. And yet he was still wearing out the floorboards of their living room.

Because no matter how many times they'd talked about it, this was a commitment. This was the first time that he was attempting to take everything completely into his own hands and it made no sense whatsoever and Blaine was likely to just call him crazy and a dreamer and laugh in his face, but Kurt had to take the chance that he wouldn't.

That others wouldn't.

Because he'd come to realize, talk was cheap. If he didn't give himself the chance, how was anybody else supposed to?

Seeing Blaine bound to the bed at Black and White, he'd felt things he'd never felt before. Dominance, power, but most importantly, an ownership, given to him by Blaine's complete surrender of his submission. And it was in that moment he knew that he couldn't live this lie anymore. He couldn't live with Blaine surrendering, submitting, to anyone else. Even on paper. Blaine's submission was his alone to take.

"We're home," Blaine called. The front door closed. Little feet pitter pattered into the house. "Take your shoes off and empty your backpack of anything Daddy or I need to look at," he said more quietly.

"I don't have anything," Serena answered.

Kurt took a deep breath, settling his ridiculous nerves, and went to greet them. "Hey, how are my two favorite people today?" Kurt picked Serena up in a hug and kissed her cheek. She wiggled and laughed and he put her down, wrapping his arms around his husband. "How was your day at the studio with Sam? Is he learning the ropes?"

Blaine kissed him on the lips and then sighed. "It's slow going, but I think he's going to be fine. Hard to learn everything about running the studio in such a short time, but I'm just grateful that he's willing to take things over during Once. And that Cooper agreed to let someone else run it."

"It's your studio to do with as you see fit. Cooper respects that. Besides, he would do anything to let you follow your dreams, Blaine. We all would."

"I have the best people in the whole world supporting me and I love them all." Blaine's eyes twinkled and he pulled Kurt close. "You most of all. Sir."

They kissed, one of those kisses where love and submission surround them and the world nearly disappears until…

"Yuck, stop it," Serena said, rolling her eyes. She was nearly four going on fourteen. "What's for dinner?"

Blaine's eyes opened wide. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I'll start it now."

Kurt laughed. "Blaine, relax. I already have everything prepped and in the oven cooking. Why don't you go into the piano room and rehearse your songs a few times. Serena, how about I give you some TV time?"

"Can I watch Moana?" Serena asked as she plopped down on the couch.

Kurt smiled. It was one of their favorites. "Of course."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt watched Blaine go into the room, but he had to turn his attention to the remote and getting the movie situated for her. When she was all settled and he checked on the casserole baking with twenty minutes to go. Butterflies filled his stomach, he listened but heard nothing, and he went to explore the deafening silence emanating from the piano room.

He crossed the threshold and closed the door quietly behind him. Blaine was standing at the bench, staring at the perfectly penned papers in his hand. Kurt waited until his sub slowly realized he was in the room.

Blaine blinked and looked up. "What is this?" he asked in a near whisper.

"It's a new contract." Kurt tried to keep the nerves out of his voice.

Blaine shook his head. "Santana didn't say anything about-"

"Santana didn't write it," Kurt said. "I did."

Blaine's head spun for a moment. "I don't understand."

"This contract…Santana isn't in it. It's just between you and me. I want to claim you."

Blaine relaxed a little, a small smile playing at his lips. "I want you to claim me too, Kurt. More than anything, you know that. But you can't."

Kurt took a step forward and reached his hand out to raise Blaine's chin. "I definitely can't if we don't try. But if we do try, then maybe someday I can."

Blaine stared at him. "You're serious."

"I'm serious, Blaine." Kurt took the document from him, placing it on the piano, and took Blaine's hands in his. "My biggest fear is that someday, someone is going to take you from me and there will be nothing I can do to stop them. A contract and a claim, a legal claim, gives no one the right to you or your submission but me."

Kurt could see the worry creasing Blaine's forehead. "They'll turn us away the minute they see your designation."

"What if a blood test comes back Dominant?" He'd been thinking about it. His Dominance had been coming out more and more. He knew that in the confines of a lab, without Blaine, the chances that his hormone level would be high enough for the designation were very slim. But maybe…

"I suppose…"

It was clear that Blaine didn't want to hurt Kurt, but didn't really believe it was possible. Kurt thumbed gently over his knuckles. "And if it doesn't, I don't think that should stop us."

"We'll have to talk to Santana. Wouldn't I have to dissolve our claim first? And then what if…"

"I already talked to her and she said you wouldn't have to dissolve your claim until after we knew for sure. She'll come with us. We'll need her for her legal expertise as much as her signature."

"What happens when they say no?"

When, not if. Kurt didn't miss that.

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it," Kurt said. He knew he was being naïve, more hopeful than he should be. But he couldn't help it. "I don't know where we go from there Blaine, all I know is that I have to do this. I can't go on knowing I didn't at least try." The doubt in Blaine's eyes though didn't change and Kurt sat on the piano bench with a frown. "Of course we won't do it if you don't want to."

Blaine dropped to his knees immediately. "I want to Kurt, god I want your claim more than anything else in the world. This." He held up the contract. "This means everything to me. I'm just…I'm just scared."

Kurt understood that. "I'm scared too. I was scared just to give this to you, to even ask. I've been pacing the floor for hours," he admitted with a chuckle.

Blaine reached up and cupped his face. Kurt closed his eyes for a second at the touch. "Kurt, you don't ever have to be scared to ask me anything. It's not being your sub that scares me. I already am, heart and soul. It's just…breaking the rules."

"That's never really been an issue for you before, sweetheart," Kurt smirked.

With a shy laugh, Blaine lowered his head. "With you, no. With the rest of the world…?"

"Look," Kurt said. "When you surrendered to me fully, you gave me something that I can't even explain. It's like, my whole life I've lived in a world that was always out of focus. And for a moment, I caught a glimpse of what everyone else can see, what you saw when you gazed up at me for the first time on that stage. It's what you've wanted your whole life Blaine and I want to give that to you. I want to at least try. If you want to try. They'll probably say we can't…"

"But if we try, then maybe someday we can," Blaine said, echoing Kurt's earlier words. His gaze fell and Kurt could feel his submission surround him. "I am yours, Sir."

Kurt kissed him, latching gently. "Yes, you are."

---

Kurt stood by the window, staring out as he so often did. Apart from all of the millions of people in the city. It's how he felt, even when he was down there, amongst them. Even after all these years and all the changes he'd gone through, he still felt like he was one in a million. Maybe even moreso with all of his changes.

The paper in his hand didn't help.

It always made Blaine sad, seeing him like that. When Kurt forgot about everything, when any hint of Dominance was gone, when he felt alone in the world even surrounded by the family that loved him.

He'd given Kurt the privacy to read it on his own, but when he didn't come out, Blaine went to check on him. He sat on the bed, pulling his knee in. "What does it say?"

Kurt didn't answer at first, he just stretched his arm out, letting Blaine reach for it. When it was out of his hands, he folded his arms against his chest. "It says my certified designation is Gray."

Blaine looked down. They had been waiting a week for the results of Kurt's blood test. Blaine's father had mailed him his. He hadn't even remembered having taken it before his claim with Santana, but he knew he must have. His Designation Certificate had been emblazoned across the top in gold, a blue script submissive sitting boldly in the center.

Kurt's wasn't script. And it wasn't blue. Gray it said, in the color that matched its name. It was exactly as they'd expected, exactly what Blaine's mother had warned them it was most likely to say. And yet…

"Are you disappointed?" Blaine asked.

Kurt shook his head and turned, leaning back against the wall. "No." His eyes fell on Blaine and he smiled softly. "Maybe. Just a little. Honestly, I don't know. You would think after all this time I would know."

Blaine drew closer, wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist. "You know I love you just the way you are, right? My mom once told me that with you I have the best of both worlds, and she's right. I would support anything you wanted Kurt, but if it was my choice? I would change a lot about the world, but I wouldn't change a thing about you. I love my Gray Dominant."

Kurt's eyes were on him and Blaine's submission swelled at the intensity of them. Wisps of gold and red surrounded him, latching on, thread by thread. His eyes fluttered shut, the feel of it too powerful, Dominance and love pulsing beneath his skin like it was alive. He found it difficult to stand beneath its weight and he sunk to his knees, head bowed. Until he felt Kurt's fingers beneath his chin, compelling him to meet Kurt's eyes. A determined fire blazed.

"This paper means nothing," Kurt told him. "Tomorrow we go to the City Clerk's office. And we start changing the world."

---

The Office of the City Clerk was a place that seemed familiar to them by this point. They'd filed two new contracts there with Santana and Brittany. They'd gotten their marriage licenses there. But sitting amongst all the other people waiting their turn, the building was suddenly foreboding.

"Everything will be fine," Santana told them, grasping each of their hands. She'd poured over the law books to make sure they did everything by the book today. "There's nothing they can do other than say yes or no."

There were people looking over at them. It was New York City. Kurt could blend into the crowds most of the time, but there would always be a few Broadway fans around who recognized him. He did his best to ignore it though, instead keeping one hand on Blaine's knee to stop it from bouncing nervously.

"Number 39," was called by a clerk to the far right of the long row of clerks. The three of them stood up and walked over, taking seats on the tall swiveling stools. They handed her their claim application, but she just pushed it to the side.

"Submissive's name?" She sounded bored. Blaine hoped that maybe she was so bored that she wouldn't even look at their paperwork and, abracadabra, they'd be claimed.

"Blaine Anderson-Hummel, Ma'am."

Her bright red, long nails clicked on the keyboard as she looked him up.

"You are currently in a claim with Ms. Santana Lopez?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he said, looking at his Dom.

"Blaine and I are in agreement to transfer his claim," Santana said.

Blaine squeezed her hand. She showed nothing on her face, but he couldn't even imagine how much it had hurt for her to just say those words.

To the clerk it was nothing. "IDs?" she asked and both Blaine and Santana handed them over. She took a cursory glance then passed them back.

"New Dominant's name?"

There was a tremor in his voice that Blaine could hear, but they hoped no one else could. "Kurt Hummel."

Her fingers went click on the keys. And then click again. Her eyes squinted. "You're not in the system. Do you have your designation certificate?"

Trying to keep his hand from shaking, Kurt handed over the paperwork.

It only took one look. "What the hell is this?" She stopped and looked up from Kurt's designation certificate. Even if she hadn't read it, the colors were unmistakable.

The clerk stared from Blaine to Santana to…well, she barely looked at Kurt. "Is this some sort of game?" the clerk asked.

That's a dangerous game, Blaine.

It's not a game.

Blaine shook away the echoes from his past and answered before either of his Doms could. "No ma'am. This has never been a game." Blaine reached over and took Kurt's hand. "Kurt is my husband and he is my Dominant in every way. Except on paper."

She gave him an annoyed look. "Well, on paper is where it counts, Mr. Anderson-Hummel."

"That's not true at all," Blaine said.

"Then why are you here?" she shot back.

Blaine lost his tongue. Because she was right. He had no response.

Kurt did though. "You're right, paper is where it counts. And right now, my sub is tied to another Dom on paper."

She looked at them with a mix of annoyance and disgust. "And he can dissolve that claim if he chooses, but that doesn't give you the right to claim him."

Blaine could quickly see all of Kurt's fear transformed into anger, and his heart started to race. He knew how Kurt could get when he was angry.

"Blaine is not going to live unclaimed or forced into a kinship claim when he belongs with me," Kurt snapped.

"Mr. Hummel, you are not a legal Dominant and you cannot become one. You're Gray." She finally grabbed the claim application and quickly scanned through the first page. "This is a legal document. Signing the affidavit is making a sworn statement that there are no legal impediments to your claiming. Which there most obviously are. You both could go to jail for perjury."

"Which is why you will see," Santana piped in, snapping the paperwork out of her hands, "that neither Blaine nor Kurt signed the documents. Therefore, there is no perjury."

The clerk's jaw tensed and she gritted her teeth. "Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that Mr. Hummel is Gray and cannot claim himself a submissive."

The threat of jail had sent a rush of panic through Blaine. He knew what happened to subs who were arrested. "Kurt, let's just-"

But Kurt wasn't going to let this woman tell him what he could and could not do with his own submissive and he raised his chin with pride. "You're right. I am Gray. But if a sub has a right to decline a claim, he should also have a right to choose who he submits to and who claims him. Blaine has chosen me."

The clerk was starting to get angry and she leaned in, pressing her hands against the counter. "He doesn't have that right," she said. "Honestly, you should just be satisfied that you two gentleman were able to even marry, time was when that was illegal too."

Speechless, Kurt grabbed ahold of Blaine's hand and the submission pulsing through it. Dominance rushed through them both. They'd expected Kurt to be attacked for being Gray. But it had been a long time since anyone had attacked either of them for being gay. And that was something Blaine would not stand for.

"But that changed," he said. "So this can change too."

"No, boy," she sneered at Blaine. "Some things do not change and it's clear to me that neither this Gray nor your real Dominant have taught you a damn thing about addressing authority. So let me be very clear," she said, her Dominant energy surrounding him. He saw Santana fight to hold back and he was never more thankful that Kurt couldn't feel it. It made Blaine feel sick. "Mr. Hummel is not your Dom and he will never be your Dom. He is a Gray and an obvious danger to you and I have no idea how this was allowed to happen but Ms. Lopez, if you and your submissive and his…whatever…don't get out of my sight, I will not hesitate to report you for neglect."

"Okay, it's time for us to go." Santana had tried to stay out of it, had tried to let this be about them and not her, but she couldn't let it go any further. Ignoring the stares of the people around them, she took Blaine's arm and started to steer him out of the building.

Kurt lifted one finger though, halting their exit. The fury in his eyes was clear, the Dominance only Blaine could feel pulsed with the beat of his heart, but he stayed perfectly composed.

"You are denying us a claim," he said.

"Yes."

"Because I'm Gray."

"Yes."

"Even though my submissive has chosen me."

She rolled her eyes. "He is not your submissive."

Kurt took in the crowd watching and he knew he couldn't let her have the last word. "One day you will find yourself on the wrong side of history."

"If you don't leave now, Mr. Hummel, you will find yourself on the wrong side of a jail cell. Today."

Kurt opened his mouth but Blaine grabbed his hand and pulled him away before she could make good on her promise. Fuming on the street in front of the Clerk's office, Kurt paced, back and forth, back and forth.

"Kurt-" Santana tried.

"I am just so goddamn sick of this world not recognizing that I am Blaine's Dom." He turned to his sub. "I am your Dom."

The energy whipping around him left Blaine with no opportunity to deny it. "Yes, Sir, you are."

"Kurt, we knew this would be the most likely outcome," Santana tried to reason.

"Fuck," Kurt shouted and Blaine wrapped him in his submission, trying to calm him. It took time but finally, Kurt combed his fingers through his hair with a sigh and stopped pacing. "So what do we do now?"

Santana sighed. "That depends on how much you're willing to fight for this. I can go back to my law firm today and start drafting the paperwork to file a Notice of Claim. We can file paperwork this week. But to truly fight this Kurt, you have to understand. No lower court judge is going to risk ruling in our favor. This will take years."

"Years." Kurt bit his lip and started pacing again. "Just to claim the person I love, it will take years."

Blaine couldn't deny he was scared. He'd heard the threats, he'd seen the faces of the people around them. But if this is what his Dom wanted, he would do everything he could to fuel his determination rather than his doubt. "Sir, we can do this."

Kurt's surety though had been shattered. "Blaine, half the point of legally claiming you is to make sure no one can take you away, but just doing this we were threatened with police and protective services. Do you really want protective services in our lives? Watching everything we do? Analyzing every move? We already have a record, you think they're going to just leave us alone a second time?"

Santana placed a gentle arm on Kurt's shoulder. "Kurt, listen to me. We have done nothing wrong. Unorthodox yes, but completely legal. All three contracts we've filed were read and approved by the proper authorities. They cannot punish any of us for abiding by it."

"Sir, I understand," Blaine said. "I'm scared too. But you were the one who wanted this. You were the one who made me believe it was possible. I was scared to break the rules, but I don't think we should let them win. You've never let them win before. I want to do this."

"Do you, Blaine?" Kurt looked at him with love and fear and the strongest sense of protection he'd ever felt. "Do you really want to? Do you want to go through everything this means? Over the last 200 years, Grays have won the right to exist, to be educated, to vote, to marry. But as far as I know, not one of us has ever asked for the rights of a Dominant. And Dominants are not going to give up their power that easily. If we do this…" Kurt took a deep breath and looked at Blaine. "You saw those people looking at us. That clerk is not the only one who believes the things she said. There are a lot of people, maybe a majority, who believe it as well. Santana's right. If we do this, it will be a battle. Public. Years long. We have no idea how ugly it could get. With a dozen people saying no before we maybe get that one final yes."

"I'm willing to risk everything Kurt."

"Everything? You start rehearsals for your first Broadway show in a week, Blaine. This could affect ticket sales, our careers, god, Cooper's career, your parents. If you think Westerville's reaction to just our being together was intense, it won't hold a candle to what the tabloids will say about this. And then there's Serena." Kurt took Blaine's hands, brushing gently over his knuckles. "What would we be getting Serena into, if we decide to fight?" Blaine tried to hide the heartbreak on his face, but Kurt knew him better. He reached up and smoothed his sub's worry lines. "This was selfish of me. Selfish putting you and Serena and everyone else at risk, thinking we could just walk in there and the worst we would get would be a polite no."

For some reason that made Blaine angry. Because Kurt had said himself this wasn't about him. "So is it selfish of me to be able to have the Dominant I want? The claim I want? You said it's what I've wanted my whole life, is that selfish?" Blaine argued.

Kurt sighed, closing his eyes. "No. No, that's not selfish at all. I'm sorry." He tried to breathe. He tried to muster even the slightest hint of Dominance, but there was nothing there. "Look, I'm not saying we won't move forward. But we have a lot to think about and we're all very busy and we shouldn't be doing anything to distract us from your Broadway debut. And I think we owe it to our families to talk to them first this time before we do anything. We aren't going to be able to do this without their support."

Blaine stepped closer, bringing Kurt's hand to his heart. "I understand," he said quietly. "You're right, Sir. I trust you, whatever you decide."

And with Blaine's trust, maybe he could do this. "Santana, draw up the papers and hold onto them. We won't even look at them before opening night, but that way if and when we're ready, we're really ready."

Blaine leaned into him and rested his head on his Dom's shoulder. Kurt wrapped him in his arms and in his love. Nothing had ever been easy for them. But no matter what, they would always fight together.

---

"Are you just going to stare at me all night?" Blaine asked, pulling slightly at the restraints attaching him to his bedposts. He'd been there under Kurt's heated gaze for almost ten minutes.

"Yes," Kurt said from his perch where he sat atop their bedroom desk. "Watching you. Where no one else can see you. Or touch you. Or tell me you belong to someone else."

Tied down as he was, Blaine's submission was as trapped as his body. This wasn't Dominant hormones fueling Kurt's possessiveness. This was Kurt's pure, natural dominance.

For some reason that turned him on even more.

"Kurt, please…" he said, a little breathless, his submission churning.

"This will be easier, sweetheart, if you just let go," Kurt said.

"What will?"

"My watching you. I bet I could make you come without a single touch."

Blaine's cock pulsed and he threw his head back against the pillow that was propping him up. "Fuck."

"That's one," Kurt warned. But there was amusement in it. Kurt was having fun.

Blaine loved when his pain brought Kurt pleasure.

Kurt was right. He was pretty sure he could come from Kurt's Dominance alone. All he had to do was let go.

He wanted to let go.

He let his lids fall until the white of the ceiling disappeared, slipping slowly into subspace to that place just before all his senses heightened. And there was nothing before his eyes but the shadow of Kurt's face.

He would do anything for that face.

It started small. Tiny wisps of blue rising and then drifting away like the steam off a cup of coffee. It was all he could manage, until he concentrated less on the binds Kurt had him tethered with and more on the society that held them tethered. The society that made Kurt feel that he was selfish for wanting what everyone else was allowed to have. He abandoned himself to the feeling. To the desire to fight to be free of those restraints so the only one that could ever hold him down was Kurt. So that Kurt and only Kurt could ever command him again. And if Kurt asked, he would fall, fall so far and so hard no matter what the cost. He would kneel and he would crawl and he would grovel for Kurt. He would give up everything, submit to anything.

He had no idea how long he lay there, how long Kurt sat raking his eyes over every inch of his body. He didn't realize when his wisps of submission had turned to tendrils. He didn't realize how far he had fallen until he was caught by Dominance, Kurt's Dominance, forbidding him from disappearing into a world where Kurt could not exist. Where he could not be heard or seen. Where he could not be obeyed.

Blaine's eyes fluttered open. Kurt had left the desk, was sitting by his side, a hand placed softly atop his thigh. He lost himself immediately into the depths of his Dom's gaze, the lust-blown eyes, almost black with just a rim of blue. Blaine's blue. Kurt's Dominance surrounded by Blaine's submission.

"There you are sweetheart," Kurt purred gently. "That's better." Blaine could hear the difference. Feel Kurt's power thrumming through his body. "Such a good boy for me, aren't you? Submitting to me and only me."

"Yes, Sir." Blaine nearly sang the words. "I always want to be good for you, Sir. Only you."

Kurt smiled and took his hand away. "Now, sweetheart, I am going to claim every inch of your skin without a single touch. And all I want you to do is watch my eyes. Listen to my voice. And feel me."

Blaine swallowed. "Yes, Sir."

Kurt had never done it before. His love Blaine had been able to feel for years and he would forever surrender himself to that. But everything was still so new with Kurt's Dominance, the energy now surrounding his love that could reach out and touch him like Santana's and Elliott's had before. That kind of strength and control didn't seem like it would be possible for Kurt. But Blaine knew that wasn't going to stop him from trying, not that day. They could tell Kurt he wasn't his Dom and they could tell Kurt that Blaine didn't belong to him, but Kurt would be damned before he let Blaine believe those lies. Answering Kurt's unspoken demand, Blaine focusing on nothing but the Dominance in Kurt's gaze. The love. The authority. The ownership. And whatever submission he'd been holding on to, he let go.

His body belonged to Kurt. For Kurt to touch, and play with, and make him feel whatever Kurt wanted him to feel. And when Blaine let go, he felt it. It was barely a breeze as Kurt started to trace the features of his face. His long lashes, his strong cheekbones, down to his nose.

And then blue eyes fell to Blaine's lips. They started to tingle.

Blaine gasped, barely able to breathe.

"You're okay, sweetheart. Keep your eyes on me and you'll be okay."

Blaine didn't dare disobey and he barely blinked, not wanting to break their connection for even the briefest of seconds.

"Can you feel that? I can feel it," Kurt said, his voice soft and low. "The way your lips feel against mine. The way they make the world fall away until your love consumes me. You think it's your submission but I can feel what's inside of it, Blaine. I can feel your love with every kiss."

Blaine's submission swirled and he felt like he was floating. He tried to stay focused on Kurt's eyes, Kurt's power, but the tingle in his lips started to spread down his neck, making him shiver. Kurt's Dominance felt like a caress over his shoulder, up his arm. It wasn't until Kurt reached his wrist that Blaine even remembered the cuff that held him down, the scarves intricately tied to the headboard. And for just a moment his submission nearly slipped as instinct found its way even through the haze of subspace to pull against the bindings for freedom.

But before it could, Kurt had harnessed it and used it for himself, energy forming like a whip lashing out with no pain, wrapping around his wrist, latching back onto his submission, reminding him that it was Kurt's Dominance and not the cuffs that held him there.

"There will be none of that, sweetheart," Kurt reprimanded. Despite his restraints, his submission soared, and with it Kurt's Dominance flared. Blaine felt it go straight through him. "You are here for me. For what I want. You belong to me, Blaine, me and no one else. Which means you do what I say. Exactly what I say."

"Yes, Sir," Blaine whispered. "I'm sorry."

"You will learn," Kurt said. "Now be still."

Blaine did all he could to obey and a warm vibration ever so slowly moved through him. Feather soft wisps of energy, skimming over his body, against his skin, along every curve that Kurt could see.

Except one.

And it wept for Kurt's attention.

"You want it, don't you?" Kurt said. "You want to see if I can do it. If I'm strong enough. If you're strong enough to get it out of me."

"Yes, please Kurt," Blaine begged, watery eyes wide with hope. He wrapped his submission around his Dom with as much strength as he could. "Please, please touch me. I am yours. I belong to you. Please."

Kurt tried, but it wasn't enough. "I need more Blaine. I need everything. Or you will get nothing."

Blaine closed his eyes, tears falling. He didn't know what else to do other than ask to be freed from the restraints. He had given Kurt everything he had, his love, his trust, his respect, his obedience, his submission, everything. But then he realized, he hadn't. There was one truth he'd never said out loud. Not to him.

"Kurt Hummel," he said. He had meant to be on his knees if he'd ever had the chance to utter these words, but he imagined to Kurt, his current position was more than suitable. "I accept the terms of your sacred contract, to be your submissive, willingly and freely."

Kurt leaned over and kissed him, a kiss with such power that Blaine would swear it left him no choice but to be claimed. Then it filled him, Kurt's Dominance matching his submission, strength matching strength, burning between them. Blaine pulled against the restraints, surging toward him, into the kiss to deepen it. Kurt allowed it, but just for a moment before he pulled away.

"Please," Blaine begged, breathless.

"You're such a good boy Blaine," Kurt told him. "My good boy. And I'm going to give you what you want. Just follow my eyes and feel."

Kurt's gaze dropped. And then Blaine could barely keep his lids from closing no matter how hard he tried, because whether it was only in Blaine's mind or it truly was the energy that flowed between them, the fire of Dominance wrapped around his cock.

Blaine cried out, words and sounds pouring from his lips without any hope of reaching his ears, and all he felt was that energy, stroking him, vibrating up and down his shaft. It was as soft as a breeze, warm and gentle.

The wave started in his toes and his fingers and it rippled through his body from each of his restraints to reach its peak in one place. His balls grew tight, his stomach coiled, and his cock thrust into the flame of Kurt's Dominance.

"Please, Sir."

Blaine may not have been able to hear his the words that had been pouring from his lips, but Kurt had and he'd never stopped his tally. "You owe me for five swears, sweetheart. So I'm going to count. One."

He knew the count would be slow and all Blaine could do was weep and clench his hands into fists, gritting his teeth against the explosion boiling inside him.

"Two."

He thrust up into Kurt's Dominance, the feel both saving and killing him.

"Three."

Every number felt like an eternity. There wasn't an inch of skin that wasn't soaked with the effort of holding back. His head began to spin. His ears began to ring. He thought for sure he was going to pass out.

"Four, Blaine, just one more and you can come."

"Kurt, please," he moaned. "Please, fu-" He caught it this time, the swear that nearly fell from his lips, and he screamed into his arm instead. Blaine had no words left. No more tears.

He almost didn't hear when Kurt said the number five, but he felt the quickening around his cock and he finally heard the words he had been waiting for. "Come for me."

Blue and red and gold exploded like fireworks inside of him, his body shook, trembling with the force of his release, pleasure pulsing, ripping through him, coursing through his veins until he floated away into perfect bliss.

He woke up in Kurt's arms, freed from his restraints, his head cradled on his Dom's chest. Kurt played with the wet curls on his forehead. "Sometimes I wish I could go with you," Kurt whispered.

"Where?" Blaine asked.

"To subspace. It seems so calm. So peaceful."

Thumbing over Kurt's skin, Blaine played with the thin wisps of hair on his chest. "Have you ever? I mean, when you-"

"No," Kurt frowned. "Not even close. And Dom drop is nothing like that. It's a darkness filled with anger and guilt and regret."

Blaine hitched up onto his elbows to look at his Dom. "Then let me stave off the drop, Kurt. You must have had a huge spike to do what you just did. I don't even know how-"

"No one tells me I'm not your Dom," Kurt said firmly. "My Dominance and your submission bring out the best in each other. Your strength and control make me stronger." He pulled Blaine close and kissed him softly. "Not to mention how erotic my staring at you is."

Blaine laughed. He ran his fingers over Kurt's hip. "I don't think I can do the same thing you did but I'm pretty good with my hands."

"Your hands, your lips," Kurt said, and both their hearts started to race again. "You take the best care of me. There can't be a luckier Dom in the world."

"Thank you, Sir," Blaine said, tracing down his chest and the trail below. His fingers encircled his husband, gliding gently along his length. "That's all I want."

---

"Good morning."

Kurt had woken up to the sun shining through the windows and an unexpectedly empty bed that morning. After getting ready himself, he found his sub dressed and standing over the stove cooking eggs and bacon. "I thought I told you to sleep in this morning."

"You did," Blaine said without a hint of guilt. "But I couldn't sleep, so I decided it was better to stick to my routine of making breakfast rather than lying in bed pretending to be asleep."

Kurt leaned back against the counter next to him, snatching a piece of bacon. "I guess I will refrain from punishing you since it's your first day of rehearsals."

Blaine's eyes shined with love. "Always so merciful."

"Mmhmm," Kurt answered with a smirk. He looked over at his daughter's closed door and started toward it. "Serena," he yelled. "Time for…what the heck is this?"

He'd opened the door to find every item of clothing from his daughter's closet piled high on her bed while Serena stood, staring at it with her hands on her hips. "I don't have anything to wear," she said matter-of-factly.

Kurt raised a brow. "The gigantic pile on your bed would say otherwise." He didn't tell her he'd stood at his own closet for ten minutes that morning thinking the same thing. "Okay," he said, walking over to her bed. "Pants, dress, or skirt?"

"Dress," Serena decided.

"Fancy or casual?"

"Fancy."

Kurt sorted through the clothes. "Purple, pink or blue," he asked her.

"Purple," she said.

Kurt grabbed two dresses that met her criteria and held them up. "Pick one."

Serena studied them far longer than Kurt thought was necessary. Then finally she pointed to the one with a sparkling bodice and ruffled organza on the skirt. "That one," she said.

"Excellent." Kurt handed her the dress and went to her drawers. "Socks or tights?"

"Socks."

He grabbed a cute pair of white ankle socks and threw them over to her. "Don't forget to change your underwear," he told her, tossing those as well before he went back out, closing the door behind him.

"Is she coming?" Blaine asked as he brought the eggs and bacon to the table.

"She's getting dressed."

"By herself? Brave Daddy."

"She's standing in front of her bed staring at a giant pile of every single item of clothing from her closet. Are we sure she doesn't have my genes?"

"Nature versus nurture is tricky business," Blaine said, kissing him on top of the head. "Serena! Breakfast is-"

"I'm right here," Serena snapped with an eyeroll and Blaine couldn't help but laugh.

"Definitely more nurture than nature in that girl," he decided.

Kurt raised an amused brow. "You sure about that? Your attitude has gotten you into trouble more times than I can count." Blaine stuck out his tongue and Serena laughed as she climbed into her seat. Kurt turned his attention to her. "You look beautiful. Come on now, let's eat up. Today's Papa's very first day of rehearsal at his very first Broadway show."

Blaine blushed as he sat down. He picked up his fork, but was too nervous to eat. "It'll probably be less than an hour before they realize they made a mistake and kick me out on the street."

"No way," Serena told him. "You're a star. Everybody says so."

"Everybody meaning Daddy?"

"Daddy and Aunt Rachel and Mommy and Aunt Brittany and Uncle Jesse and Aunt Mercedes and-"

"Okay, we get the idea," Kurt said gently, patting her hand. "But Serena is right. Everyone who knows you knows you're a star and I expect that after today you will know it too."

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous. About rehearsal, about leaving the studio in Sam's hands, about missing today's kindergarten open house. I feel bad."

Kurt turned on his Dom face. "Rehearsal will go beautifully, Sam will be fine in the studio, and it's totally okay that you're missing the open house. P.S. 87 is in our zone, but it's not like it's one of our top choices."

"It's dual immersion. I thought that was one of the things you were looking for."

"It's Spanish though, not French."

"Okay Kurt, I know you have this romantic idea of the French, but I shouldn't have to remind you that the nature part of your daughter makes her half Latina. And what if she wanted to do In the Heights one day? Or a linguistically accurate West Side Story? Even if she doesn't do theater, being fluent in Spanish could be very helpful for her career and it's important for her heritage."

Kurt had the decency to look contrite. "You're right, I'm sorry. Okay, P.S. 87 moves up on the list."

"Thank you," Blaine said with a smile. "It doesn't beat Richard Rogers though."

"Of course," Kurt said. "Nothing beats Richard Rogers."

---

"Hey everyone, I'm home!"

The moment he walked in, Blaine knew that Kurt was cooking something delicious from the smells of garlic and onion permeating through the home. He put his things down, took off his shoes and rounded the corner. Kurt smiled at him, wiping his hands on the nearby dishtowel.

Serena left the movie she was watching and came running over. Blaine picked her up and twirled her around.

"Hi Papa. Are you a star yet?"

Blaine laughed and put her down. "Not yet pumpkin. First comes a lot of hard work."

"And your Papa isn't afraid of hard work," Kurt said. He came over and gave Blaine a quick kiss on the lips. "How was your day, sweetheart?"

"Tiring." Blaine took his briefcase to the music room and settled it on the piano bench, rummaging through it. He looked up at Kurt standing in the doorway. "And amazing. We went over the rules, did a read through, then started work on the music." Kurt leaned on the piano, wanting to hear every single detail of his day. Blaine pulled out a couple of papers and slid them across to him. "I need you to sign these."

Kurt looked at them and his mood immediately shifted. "You need your Dominant to sign these, Blaine. That means Santana, not me."

I've been staring at the edge of the water
'Long as I can remember, never really knowing why

They both turned to see Serena standing in the doorway, singing with a worried look in her eye directed at her Daddy. Then she turned to her Papa expectantly.

Blaine smiled at her and walked around the piano. "They're behavior agreements Kurt, not contracts, which means you need to sign them." The fact was Santana had signed the business contracts weeks ago. "Everyone knows you Kurt, they know you're my true Dom, and they wouldn't dare undermine you and ask that Santana sign it." Blaine picked Serena up and carried her over to sit atop the piano like she loved. He sat down at the bench and placed his fingers on the keys, his eyes still on his husband. "I wouldn't dare."

"Why?"

Blaine's gaze grew soft, and his submission tingled inside him. "Because I'm accountable to you and only to you, Sir." He smiled softly, lowered his eyes, and started playing.

Serena picked up right where she'd left off.

I wish I could be the perfect daughter
But I come back to the water, no matter how hard I try

"Okay," Kurt said and turned his attention to the documents.

Every turn I take, every trail I track
Every path I make, every road leads back
To the place I know, where I can not go, where I long to be

Kurt read the papers. The union's Code of Conduct for all submissive actors. Contradictions ran through him. The belief that submissives shouldn't need a Dominant's consent and signature to work clashed with the anger that rushed through him at the thought of Blaine breaking any one of these rules. Or someone else holding him accountable for it.

His heart knew what he wanted.

See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me
And no one knows, how far it goes
If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go

They all knew that no matter how hard they fought, the chances of a Gray ever becoming a legal Dominant were remote. Santana was right, no lower court would make a decision to change the very fundamental principles that held their society together. Marriage equality was one thing. But no matter how much he tried to deny it, what Kurt and Blaine would be asking would change the entire order of their world. Right now the Supreme Court had five Doms and four subs and who knew what the makeup would be if and when the case finally got to them. He had no way of know if all the pain and difficulty would be worth it in the end. Would it be better for all of them if he just continued with the status quo, be the advocate he already was for greater rights and opportunities for Grays while keeping Blaine and Serena safe from the backlash of true protest?

I know everybody on this island, seems so happy on this island
Everything is by design
I know everybody on this island has a role on this island
So maybe I can roll with mine
I can lead with pride, I can make us strong
I'll be satisfied if I play along
But the voice inside sings a different song
What is wrong with me?

Every step he had taken with Blaine led to this choice. Every new line they had crossed, every limit they had broken, every barrier they had overcome. Looking at his husband, his submissive, his need to Dominate had grown from a burden to a gift to a craving.

See the light as it shines on the sea? It's blinding
But no one knows, how deep it goes
And it seems like it's calling out to me, so come find me
And let me know, what's beyond that line, will I cross that line?

He was afraid. That was the bottom line. He was afraid to put their families through the repercussions of fighting the system just to satisfy his own selfish need to Dominate the man he loved. Maybe there would be a time. But now wasn't it.

See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me
And no one knows, how far it goes
If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, how far I'll go

Blaine finished the last notes and looked up at Serena. "Perfect," he said, catching Kurt with a quick glance before scooping her off the piano. "Go get ready for dinner please." He gave her a tap and she ran out of the room, beaming. Then he turned to Kurt. His Dominant looked shell shocked. "Are you okay?"

"I swear that girl can read my emotions like a book," Kurt said. He walked over and fell into Blaine's arms. "What is wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you, Kurt. There never has been. Every time you reach that line on the horizon you cross it. And I know you Kurt, I know you're angry at yourself for hesitating to cross this last one, but you're right. There is a lot to consider and we don't need to rush. The courts and the bigots aren't going anywhere. You'll know the right answer when the time is right."

"I love you," Kurt hummed.

"I love you too."

Kurt held out the papers Blaine had given him. "And I will make you suffer if you break any of these rules I just signed. These are sacred."

Blaine laughed and took the agreements. "I'm counting on it, Sir."

---

Their weeks quickly filled up with a constant sense of motion. Serena to preschool, Kurt and Blaine to separate rehearsals. Kurt would pick up Serena after work and start dinner. Blaine would quickly check on Sam at the studio before going home, hopefully getting there before dinner was over. Together they would play with Serena, make sure she had her bath, and tuck her into bed. Once the show opened, Blaine's opportunities to do so would be few and far between. Blaine spent at least an hour a night in his music room with his script, his piano, and his guitar, while Kurt listened from the living room, went through his own notes from the day and prepared for the morning. If they were lucky they'd get an hour together before they fell asleep just to start all over again.

Serena spent much of her time on the weekends with her many aunts and uncles and it was the only time that Kurt and Blaine wished they lived closer to their families. Serena loved it, playing with Rachel, Jesse, and the baby most of all. Sometimes Brittany would take her to the dance studio or Santana would set her up at her office when she'd had to work weekends, or both of them would stay home with her and play house and dress up. Once, when her fathers were really in a bind, Kurt had extremely reluctantly allowed her to spend a day with their friend Elliott and his band, which had been an education in and of itself that she knew better than to share with her fathers.

Since Kurt had started working on Broadway, Mondays had always been special for Blaine and Kurt. The only day without rehearsals or shows, it had been a day for them to reconnect, just the two of them. But since Kurt's Dominance had truly started to intensify it began to mean even more. It became a standing agreement that on Mondays they would set their roles aside for the day. For Kurt, it was a chance to breathe and not get overwhelmed by the rush of hormones that were still so new and powerful and sometimes frightening. Every day that he grew stronger, his Dominance became more natural, more instinct instead of work. But with that brought more and more risk of Dom drop. They realized quickly that Kurt needed a day to not get lost in it.

Blaine took the day to remember the beauty of everything Kurt was and how much of a privilege it was to be to be dominated by him and to be able to give him his submission. And if it sometimes let him get away with a bit of mischief without the risk of punishment, well, that was just a bonus. He didn't abuse it, Kurt would never let him. But it was a chance for both of them to honor all of who Kurt was, and not just the roles society had set for them. And if at some point they chose to move ahead with their lawsuit, it was an important reminder that they wouldn't be fighting for the right of a Gray to become a Dominant, but for the right of a submissive to choose to be claimed by a Gray.

And sometimes, it was just a day for two people who loved each other to sit and have coffee and catch up with one another while their daughter was at preschool.

"Be honest with me Blaine," Kurt said as they carried their coffees over to their table. Blaine grabbed some sugar on the way by before sitting down across from his husband. "Do you really want me to choose Serena's kindergarten or are you just saying that."

Blaine smiled and took Kurt's hand. "I really want you to. It has nothing to do with you being my Dom, I just know you'll make a better choice than me. You've seen all of them, you'll take all the important things into consideration. Besides, applications are due just as previews for my show are starting and my brain just can't handle one more thing beyond rehearsals and the studio. I trust you Kurt. Completely."

"I promise, I won't let you down." Kurt took a sip of his coffee. "How is Sam doing at the studio?"

"Great, actually," Blaine said. "I think all that time spent with Mercedes really taught him a lot about what goes into a good recording and what our clients need to be at their best. He loves taking care of them as much as I do, so I feel like I've really left it in good hands."

"Good," Kurt said. "Because I don't want that to be-"

"Kurt Hummel."

Kurt didn't need to see who came up behind him to know who it was but Blaine found himself looking up at a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed man who spoke his Dominant's name like it was dripping with molasses. British molasses. Blaine tried to ignore the pang in his heart as Kurt's eyes widened with excitement.

"Adam!" Kurt screeched as he jumped up to the hug the man. His ex-boyfriend. His ex-Dom. "Oh my god, what are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming to New York."

"Well, clearly you aren't paying enough attention to the West End theater scene then or you would have known that my production was transferring to Broadway." Adam wagged his finger playfully in Kurt's face. "Shame on you."

"Sorry, you're right." Kurt wasn't blushing, he couldn't have been blushing, Blaine thought, it must have been the heat of the coffee finally hitting his cheeks. "I should have been paying more attention."

Blaine didn't think Kurt needed to be paying any attention to anything his ex-boyfriend did and he quickly cleared his throat. Kurt turned, as if he'd forgotten his husband was there.

"Oh Adam, I want you to meet my husband, Blaine Anderson. Blaine, this is Adam Crawford."

Blaine did everything he could to keep his calm and his dignity and he stood up and held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you," he said as Adam shook it with a strong grip. "Kurt has told me a lot about you."

"He has, has he?" A smirk played on Adam's lips. "That surprises me actually. Given the…nature…of your relationship. You know, I have to admit, Kurt, when I read that you were playing Dom-"

"He's not playing," Blaine snapped. "He is a Dom. He's my Dom."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at Blaine's insolence, but said nothing.

Adam didn't miss it. "Is he now?" Adam's gaze shifted for only a second to Blaine, then returned to Kurt. "Your sub's getting a little worked up there," he said. "Let me know if you need some help keeping him in line, I'd be more than happy."

Kurt clasped Blaine's hand in his and he tried to relax the tension he felt in Blaine's grip. "Thank you Adam, but Blaine and I are just fine. On Mondays, Blaine indulges my Gray side and lets go of his submission for the day. So he's free to say whatever he wants."

Adam quirked a brow. "Interesting. And if it wasn't Monday?"

"Adam…"

The Dom laughed though. "You know I'm just joking with you. You were always so easy to provoke. Just one of the things that made you such an excellent sub."

Kurt scoffed. "I was a terrible sub and you know it."

"No," Adam said, his voice taking on a sudden seriousness. "You weren't."

Adam seemed to be trying to look deep into Kurt's soul and it made Blaine shiver. He didn't like it one bit.

This time it was clear that Kurt was blushing, his gaze lowering. "Well, thank you, I guess."

Adam laughed. "Oh you should definitely be thanking me for being such a good Dominant to you. I did teach you a thing or two, didn't I?"

Kurt let out a laugh. "That you did. And there are times I make very good use of it."

This time it was Blaine's cheeks that reddened. "Kurt. I think it's time to…go to the…you know, that thing."

"Ah yes," Kurt said, sensing Blaine's discomfort. "It was good seeing you, Adam. How long are you in the city?"

"I'm here for 6 months. I'm sure we'll run into each other again."

Blaine just stared as Kurt hugged his ex goodbye, leaving him with one more small smile before they grabbed their coffees and headed outside. Blaine took one last look behind him and Adam still stood there, watching them.

"I don't like that guy," Blaine muttered, turning back to Kurt.

Kurt chuckled softly and squeezed his hands. "Don't worry, Blaine. Adam is harmless."

Blaine thought he was anything but harmless. "He was flirting with you. And checking out your ass."

"Well I do have a perfect ass, you know that."

"Yes I do. And I also know it's mine."

Kurt glanced over to his sub, reading the tension in his face and the anger in his eyes for what it was. "I can't decide if jealousy is cute on you or not. Monday yes, but I suspect I wouldn't be too pleased the rest of the week."

"Well then," Blaine said. "Let's hope we only ever run into him on Mondays."

---

"So how are rehearsals going, Squirt?" Cooper asked.

Blaine sat back on the couch, popcorn in hand left over from his and Serena's movie night. Kurt was out late, wooing producers with all his Dominant charm for the latest project he was developing with their college stage combat professor, Robert.

"Rehearsals are good Cooper, but god, I had forgotten how much work went into a role like this," Blaine admitted. "I mean, I've been watching Kurt work for years but I think I'm using muscles I haven't used since college and frankly, it's exhausting."

"Have you talked to Kurt about that? I don't want you overtaxed, Blaine. Are things at the studio okay? Is Sam handling things? I know you said you wanted to keep doing this on your own, but if you need me to send someone in while you're working-"

"I'm fine Coop, really," Blaine assured him. "Sam is doing great and all my customers are understanding. And Kurt will take care of me. He always does."

"I know he does," Cooper said. "Doesn't mean I can't worry about my little brother."

Blaine loved him for that. He really did. And sometimes, Blaine worried about him too. "Hey, Cooper? What would you say if I said that Kurt and I were going to go to the Clerk's office so he could claim me? For real?"

Cooper laughed. "I'd say you two were crazy."

Blaine swallowed. "What if I said we were going to file a lawsuit against the state of New York? To make it legal for him to do that?"

Silence filled the line. It must have been obvious in his voice. Blaine's heart started to race. When Cooper finally answered, he wasn't laughing anymore. "Blaine, please tell me you haven't already done this."

Blaine ducked his head, his cheeks turning pink despite the fact that Cooper was a thousand miles away. His big brother had always had this way of making Blaine feel like he'd done something wrong. "The first, yes. The second, no. Santana has the paperwork all ready to file, but…" He rubbed his hand over his face. "Kurt's afraid of the backlash. On us, on Mom and Dad. On you," he said.

"Kurt has every right to be afraid of that. He should be. And you should be too."

"Are you?" Blaine asked nervously. Sometimes he hated how much his brother's opinion mattered to him. But Cooper had stuck by his side through thick and thin. Taken care of him when no one else would. He had to do the same. "Are you afraid of it?"

He could hear Cooper's sigh on the other end of the phone. "Look, Squirt, I'm just starting to film this new show. It's important. It's everything I've ever wanted in my career. It's a real serious role that means something, Blaine, it's not like all the other crap I've done."

"And you think if Kurt and I go forward with this then you'd lose that?"

"Honestly? I don't know. The headlines will ask why the greatest Dom in television can't keep his little brother on a leash."

Blaine felt his anger stir. "Because I'm not your sub."

"If you think Westerville overreacted to your relationship and your marriage, that was nothing compared to what this firestorm would be."

Blaine knew it. He knew Cooper was right. Kurt knew Cooper was right. "Would you forbid me to do it?" he asked.

"Like you said, you're not my sub."

"But if you could? Would you?"

The hesitation in Cooper's voice was clear. "I don't know. Do I think Kurt should have the right to claim you? I don't think it hurts anyone to say yes. But there will be a whole hell of a lot of people who won't agree. Forget about our careers for a minute, Blaine, what about your safety? Serena's safety?"

Blaine thought about Serena's safety all the time. "Do you think Mom and Dad would try to stop us?"

Cooper scoffed. "Ironically, I think Dad would be thrilled if Kurt could claim you and make an honest man out of you. But this isn't the way he'd want to see it happen."

His parents would want Kurt to take the hormones, become a true Dominant. But that wasn't what Kurt wanted. What either of them wanted. "Kurt shouldn't have to be someone he's not-"

"To be someone he's not?" Cooper challenged. "You're asking the world precisely to accept him being someone he's not. That's going to feel like a pretty big threat to a whole lot of people."

"Coop-"

"Look, Squirt. I'll stand by whatever you two decide, you know I will. And I'll fight back the media with everything I have. Mom and Dad and Santana's parents will fight the doctors and the pundits. But none of us will like the attention it brings to our families. The danger. So if you and Kurt are going to do this, it better be for a damn good reason and not just because Santana's legal rights hurt his feelings. Understood?"

Blaine's chest tightened, feeling a dreadful sense of defeat. "Yes, Sir. I understand."

---

Lying on her stomach on the floor of her mommy's kitchen, feet crossed in the air, Serena worked on coloring very carefully in her coloring book. Papa didn't mind when she went outside the lines, but Daddy liked things to be perfect and she liked to make Daddy proud. She worked quietly, focusing her mind to make herself invisible so they would forget that she was there. Otherwise they might stop talking about adult stuff and Serena really wanted to know everything that was going on. She didn't like secrets.

It had seemed like Papa had dragged Daddy over to Mommy and Auntie Britt's apartment. Which wasn't really a surprise. She knew that when Daddy talked to Mommy he usually did it alone. Their relationship was different than anyone else's she knew and she really didn't understand it. She thought she better figure it out by Kindergarten because people were going to start asking questions and she needed to know the answers.

It seemed grownups sometimes needed answers too, because Papa was holding Daddy under the microscope.

"Kurt," Papa said. "Come on, I know you and I know something's wrong. It's been a long time since we've talked about the baby and I know that with the possibility of the lawsuit everything is even more complicated now. But Serena's getting older, she'll be starting Kindergarten in the fall. Hell, we're all getting older and waiting isn't fair to Santana or Brittany either."

"Kurt," Santana said gently, coming to sit beside him. "I will not be mad either way. If you want to have this baby with me, that's fine. If you don't, that's fine too. But I can't keep our life on hold while you figure it out and if we do file with the court then the timing is important for other reasons."

"You said you wanted another baby," Blaine continued. "And you said it was okay that I wanted a baby Kurt running around the house. So…" He took Kurt's hand. "I know the wheels are turning in your head, I can see it in your eyes. Please just tell us what they're saying."

Serena took a chance at her invisibility to glance up. Her daddy looked uncomfortable, brushing his fingers over the table like he did whenever he was nervous. She wished she could find some way to save him. Everyone always said she was just like her papa, but she seemed to just always understand how Daddy was feeling, even if she didn't understand what he was saying.

Her daddy looked up at Papa. "I want what you want," Kurt said with the care that made them all know he meant it. "And if you want a baby, my baby, then I do too."

"But…" Blaine coaxed.

"But there's…" Kurt looked at his fingers. Serena sensed his embarrassment. "There's a certain intimacy, to someone carrying a baby. A connection that I just…Santana and I don't have. It was different for you and her, Blaine. She already has a piece of you in her heart, carrying your baby seemed natural. But Santana and I, we don't have that. And I'm not sure we should."

Serena watched Papa take a minute to breathe. She knew Papa did that when he didn't want to explode or cry or say something he knew he shouldn't say. He did it with her all the time.

"I thought it was important to us that Serena and the baby be biologically related," he finally said. "I thought it was important that we didn't bring somebody new into this."

"Yes, it is," Kurt told him. "I still believe that. That's why this has been so hard for me."

Serena wasn't sure it was as hard as they were making it out to be. Grownups always made easy things difficult. "Why don't you just have Auntie Rachel do it?"

They all turned to look at her, having forgotten that she was in the middle of the room. It was good her invisibility charm was still working.

"Serena, Pumpkin, I don't think-"

"You said Mommy doesn't have a piece of your heart like she does with Papa. But Auntie Rachel does. She's your best friend."

"She's right," Auntie Britt spoke up. "The baby can still be Santana's but Rachel could carry it. You're in her heart, Kurt, you're like a brother to her."

Blaine looked at Kurt with a brow raised.

"I don't even know if she'd do it," Kurt muttered.

"But if she would," Blaine asked. "If she agreed to carry the child that you and Santana make, would that feel okay to you?"

Serena saw a tear trickle down his face but she knew it was a happy one and she felt proud to have been the one to put it there.

"Yes," Kurt nodded with relief, sniffling and brushing away a tear. "Yes, I think that would be more than okay."

---

He'd found the little coffee shop around the corner from the theater, just far enough away to take a break from his castmates if he needed the space, but close enough to be back in no time if his stage manager called. Blaine ordered his medium drip and sat down at one of the little round tables away from the windows. He took one long sip to gain back his energy, then pulled out his script.

"Need a scene partner?"

Blaine didn't need to look up to see that it was Adam; the accent gave it away.

He rolled his eyes. "The fuck, are you following me now, or…"

"Ah, I see you're not just mouthy on Mondays. I had a feeling." Adam pulled out the seat across from Blaine, joining him uninvited. "It must be hard."

"What must be?"

Much to Blaine's chagrin, Adam actually seemed sympathetic. "Getting what you want from him. What you need. A sub needs discipline and he was never big on it. Hated it, actually. Not only did he nearly kill me when I tried to discipline him, but he got all miffed whenever he saw it. To be honest, it was probably our downfall." Adam studied him. "I'm surprised it wasn't yours."

Blaine could sit there and tell him that it might have been if Kurt hadn't grown. He could sit there and tell him that it almost was. But he really didn't need Adam knowing anything about his relationship. "Kurt takes care of me. However he needs to." He started to grab his things and tried to be as polite as he could muster. "Now if you'll excuse me-"

Adam placed his hand atop Blaine's script, stopping him. "Look," Adam said. Blaine glared at him. "I can tell the freedom he gives you. The leeway. But it can't possibly be healthy for you and I know it's not healthy for him."

Blaine wasn't one to let anyone question his relationship with Kurt, but he was definitely not going to take it from his ex. "And how could you possibly know that? Kurt and I have been together for 9 years. Just because you dated him for a millisecond doesn't mean you know a damn thing about us. It's not like your relationship was the pinnacle of health, trying to dominate someone who doesn't want to be dominated. You think I don't know how much he hated some of the things you tried to make him do?"

"But I didn't hate those things," Adam said. "And sometimes being a sub means withstanding things you don't like because your Dom has asked you to. You're a good boy, Blaine, you know that. Or…maybe you don't. Maybe Kurt just can't push you like that." Adam leaned back, nonchalantly crossing his legs. "Or maybe you're just so selfish that you've made him live a life pretending to be someone he's not-"

"Kurt is not pretending to be anything!" Blaine threw his bag over his shoulder, grabbed his script and his coffee and stood up to leave. "Do yourself a favor, Adam? Stop worrying about Kurt and me. Stop thinking about us. And for fuck's sake, stop following us."

He started to leave but Adam grabbed his arm before he could walk away.

"You may not believe this, but I care about him, Blaine," Adam said. "And he loves you, I can tell. But it's not right. I can feel your submission rolling off of you." Adam strengthened his grip and let go of his Dominance and Blaine immediately tried to pull back the cold submission that was fighting to be free. "With that kind of strength you need more than a Gray could ever give you. You need discipline he will never be able to deliver. You both can go on pretending he's a Dom all you want, but he isn't one."

Blaine pulled his arm away from Adam's grasp. "You're wrong."

But Adam wouldn't let him go. "You may think that you know everything about him Blaine, but I knew him in a way that you never will. He was good at pretending to be a sub too. Got to the point where I almost believed it. And it wasn't just the way he loved when I'd strap him to the bed, leather buckles fastened around his wrists and ankles."

"Shut up." Blaine squeezed his eyes closed but his skin flushed as a vision of Adam standing over a trussed up Kurt flashed before his eyes. A vision of Kurt so easily giving Adam what had taken him nine years to give Kurt.

"Ice was his favorite. He would beg me as I trailed ice all over his naked body, beg for me to touch him. Does he use ice with you, Blaine?"

His heart started to race. He tried to leave but his feet wouldn't move. "I said, shut up." He spoke through gritted teeth, wanting to yell but not wanting to make a scene.

But Adam didn't shut up. He came closer, so close Blaine could feel his breath on his skin. "When Kurt and I were together, Blaine, he let me control everything he did. Tell him when to get up in the morning, when to go to class, study, do his homework, even eat and shower. Kurt is very good at pretending to be what he wants to be. Doesn't mean he really is."

Blaine's chest tightened. He shook his head. "You're a fucking liar," he said. It couldn't be true. Kurt would never let someone else tell him what to do. Control him. Not even to pretend.

If Blaine had been able to look, he would have seen the pity in Adam's eyes. "I'm not, Blaine. I'm sorry, but I'm not. His Dominance is a lie."

Blaine's head was spinning and the walls were closing in. "Just get the hell away from me," he snapped before storming out of the shop.

---

"Blaine, you need to focus."

He took a deep breath and shook out his hand. "I know, I'm sorry." Blaine's fingers wouldn't stop shaking though and he was missing every other chord. His submission was swirling, desperate for the proof of Kurt's Dominance, and he couldn't get it to stop.

The director got up from behind the table and came around to him. Blaine automatically lowered his gaze, but that was far from what the director wanted. "You're vulnerable in this scene it's true, but you're not submissive. No matter what you're feeling in real life, you have to pull it back Blaine. Your submission is strong and I can't have the audience feeling it."

"I know, I'm sorry," he said and he did know. He understood the role, he understood what he needed to do. But he couldn't stop the thoughts of Adam and Kurt together, Adam dominating him, punishing him, Kurt kneeling. He knew it wasn't true, that whatever Adam and Kurt had done together was nowhere near as bad as what he was seeing in his head, he knew the dread he was feeling was nothing more than anxiety and anger, but the more he tried not to think about it, the more Adam's words echoed in his head.

Pretending.

Lie.

"Let me try again," he said.

They went back and reset the scene. Blaine started playing. He tried to lose himself in the character, in the music, banish thoughts of Kurt and settle his submission through the music.

I hope you feel better
Now that it's out
What took you so long?

And the truth has a habit
Of falling outta your mouth
Well now that it's come
If you don't mind

Leave…

But it only took a minute before it was clear that the music was hurting rather than helping. His voice cracked and his fingers just would not do what he wanted them to do. "Fuck," he swore, putting the guitar down. Hiding tears of frustration in his eyes, he lowered his head into his hands.

The stage manager was by his side in an instant. "Blaine, are you okay? Do I need to call Kurt?"

"No, no please, I'm fine," Blaine said, wiping his eyes quickly and running his fingers through his hair. He couldn't meet anybody's eyes. "Let's just do it again."

The director was patient. "Blaine just try to take a breath. If it helps, close your eyes and imagine a Dom you know who's strong – your brother, your father. Feel what they're feeling. For just a moment, pretend to have the Dominance they have. Can you do that?"

"No. No, I can't!" Blaine yelled. "Not everyone can just pick a side and pretend to be something they're not."

"Look, Blaine, I get this might be hard for you because Kurt's-"

"It's not fucking hard for me because Kurt's Gray!" Blaine stormed off the stage to his things in the chairs.

"Blaine, where are you going?"

But Blaine didn't answer. He couldn't even speak.

There was whispering for a minute before the stage manager came up next to him. "Why don't you go home and we'll get a fresh start tomorrow," she said gently.

Blaine swiped his jacket and looked back. The cast was staring at him. The director was whispering with the musical director. What he'd just done flooded him and he knew that there was no way he could continue. "Yeah," he said. "Why don't we do that."

---

Serena was supposed to be in bed. She was supposed to be asleep. But Papa was also supposed to come home in time to kiss her goodnight and that hadn't happened, so she felt she had a right to crouch quietly by her bedroom door and listen for him.

The phone had rung about 30 seconds ago and Serena hoped it was her Papa. It didn't sound like it was though. Daddy did more listening than talking and that wasn't what conversations with Papa went like.

"No, he's not home yet."

Papa. The call was about Papa.

"I'm very sorry that happened," Daddy said. His voice was tight. Angry. She could hear him grow closer until he was right outside her door.

She held her breath.

"I apologize for his behavior," Daddy said.

Uh oh. Serena knew what that meant.

"No, thank you, I'm glad you called to tell me. I'll be sure to take care of it and he will apologize in the morning. Thank you." Kurt hung up and before she could let her imagination run away with her, she heard the door click and the rustling of her fathers. "Nice of you to come home, Blaine, it's almost 9pm," Kurt said. "I believe your rehearsal ended four hours ago?"

Serena listened hard but Papa didn't say anything. She heard the toss of his keys on the side table by the door and she knew he would take his shoes off in the front hallway. She wished she could see through the door of her room or even sneak it open an inch, but both her dads would see that and then she'd be the one in trouble.

But by Daddy's tone she was pretty sure that Papa realized he was the one in trouble. He didn't sound scared though when he said, "Sorry. I stopped by the studio to check on Sam and then got caught up recording." He sounded like he just wanted to crawl into bed and go to sleep.

"Right," Daddy snapped. "I'm sure that's all it was. I'm sure it wasn't because you knew your stage manager would be calling me to tell me how you acted today. Disrespecting your director? Storming out in the middle of rehearsal? Yes, that's right. What, you think she wasn't going to tell me? What the hell is wrong with you, Blaine?"

Serena had rarely heard Daddy so angry, not like that. But even she knew not to misbehave at the theater.

"Look, Kurt, I'm sorry."

"It's Sir," Daddy demanded.

Serena froze. She was pretty sure her Papa had too.

"Go kiss Serena goodnight and then you can wait for me in our bedroom."

"Sir," Papa started but Serena didn't hear any more because she nearly ran back to her bed and jumped beneath her covers. She pulled them up and closed her eyes like she was sleeping before Papa could come in, hoping her racing heart wouldn't give her away.

The light from the living room shined in and in a moment, Papa was leaning over her, brushing the curls off her face where they had landed. "Sleep tight," Papa whispered, kissing her softly on the forehead. "Love you." And then he went back out the door, shutting it behind him.

Serena opened her eyes. If she thought for one second that sneaking out of bed and listening at her fathers' door would do any good at all, she would have. But they'd moved into this new apartment three months ago and Serena had quickly learned that there was not a single sound that leaked out of the master bedroom when the door was closed. Sound-proof, just like Papa's studio.

So the secrets that happened inside would stay secret from Serena for a long time. And with that thought in her mind, she drifted off to dreamless sleep.

---

Blaine shut Serena's bedroom door behind him and took a deep breath. "Sir-"

"I don't want to hear a single word from you, Blaine," Kurt said, turning away from him. "All I want is you in our bedroom, in the corner, on your knees."

Blaine's legs suddenly grew weak and his heartbeat thrummed in his head. He didn't think he had ever seen Kurt so angry, not even when he'd forgotten Serena's doctor's appointment. He didn't dare disobey. In the bedroom he closed the door behind him. All he had wanted to do was get out of his rehearsal clothes, take a shower and get into bed. But now, he didn't know whether his clothes were to stay on or come off. Kurt hadn't said anything so he went straight to the corner, got on his knees, put his head down, and his arms behind his back in position.

And he waited. Trying not to think. He'd hoped that after Adam accosted him his day would turn around, but his emotions were too on the surface, he couldn't concentrate, and then the director had said that word. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to remember the way Adam had looked at him with pity in his eyes. The way his hot breath had whispered in his ear. He tried to banish every picture that his mind had painted of Kurt submitting. Every word that he had said.

The click of the door and the lock followed by Kurt's footsteps stopped his thoughts. He could feel his Dom behind him, watching, latching on with Dominance blazing as hot as he could. Blaine's submission ran cold, but his face burned with the shame he felt, not for what he'd done exactly, but for doing anything to make his Dom this mad.

"You have always told me a submissive's behavior is tied to their Dominant," Kurt started. His tone was careful, controlled, but Blaine shivered at the rage he could feel running just below the surface. "That a submissive belongs to their Dom so completely and thoroughly that the things they do reflect on them. I accepted it, what you said, but I never truly understood what that meant. Until now."

"Sir, please-"

"I put my name on the line for you, Blaine! In this business, where it doesn't matter how well my shows do or how much money I make them, I still have to prove myself, every fucking day, that I can command an authority and respect that they can put money behind. And you, you knew that, even back in Boston, you said it yourself that you were their proof. So I gave you to them and signed your behavior contract and told them that they could trust you because I trusted you and then you fucking disrespect your director in the middle of rehearsal?"

"Sir, please let me-"

"Stand up," Kurt ordered.

He could hear Kurt come closer, walk around him, until he'd leaned back on the wall beside Blaine. Blaine's heart beat fast with every second of silence that his Dom's eyes seemed to bore into him. He couldn't help but turn his head to meet them. Kurt's frustration was obvious.

"How many times are we going to have this conversation about your temper, Blaine? Edging doesn't work, public humiliation doesn't work, I know for sure that spanking you would only be encouragement. What do I need to do to get you to understand?"

Blaine could feel the tears coming to his eyes and he turned back to the corner, pressing his forehead against the wall. "I don't know, Sir."

"If there is one place Blaine, one place where I expect you to be on your absolute best behavior, it is inside those theater walls. On that stage. In the rehearsal hall. Those places are sacred Blaine and our reputations are the only thing that let us keep walking inside. So please, tell me, what on earth could have been so important as to jeopardize everything we've ever worked for."

"He told me to pretend," Blaine whispered. The word echoed in his ears.

"What?" Kurt looked incredulous. "What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"I…I had a horrible morning and then he told me I was turning my vulnerability into submission and I needed to think of a Dom and get into their shoes, imagine what it would be like, pretend-" Blaine's breath hitched and he gasped, his sobs halting his words.

Kurt was giving him no leeway though. "That's what acting is though, Blaine. It's pretending to be someone else, something you're not."

The words struck at his very core and his face grew hard. "Is that what you're doing? Acting like a Dom? Pretending to be one just like you pretended to be a sub?"

Kurt's eyes opened wide. "I beg your pardon? Is that what this is about?" Kurt was outraged. "Get over here."

Blaine knew the words were a mistake before he'd even reached Kurt, but then Kurt grabbed him by his belt loops and pulled him over his knee.

"Kurt, Sir-"

Kurt smacked his ass and Blaine gasped, clenching his fists. He tried to catch his breath when Kurt spanked him again and again, lighting a fire beneath his skin. He hadn't been ready for this, hadn't expected it at all and instinctually tried to wiggle out of Kurt's grasp. His Dom just held him even more tightly by the waist and continued to blister him.

"Does. This. Feel. Like. Pretending. To. You?"

Each word was punctuated by an ever stronger strike to his increasingly bruised backside and Blaine blinked back his tears.

"No, Sir, please, Kurt, I'm sorry."

Abruptly Kurt stopped and nearly pushed Blaine off his lap. "Get back on your knees," he ordered.

Scrambling to the center of the room, throbbing with dread and desire, Blaine fell immediately to the floor in perfect position. His head spun, not understanding how this day had spiraled so horribly out of control. Sniffing, he looked up to see Kurt walk to the drawer next to their bed. His heart quickened. His Dom pulled out a box and tossed it to him without a word of warning. Blaine barely caught it.

"I'm going to go outside and calm down before I do something I regret," Kurt said, his voice still hard as nails. "You are going to stay here, think about what you've done, and decide whether or not you are going to safeword that punishment."

Blaine couldn't say a word before Kurt slammed out the door. Sitting back on his heels, he turned over the box in his hands. What he saw shocked his breath away.

Fire condoms.

Panic rushed through him. The gum Santana had made him chew when he was younger was bad enough, but at least he could shift it to one side, let the other side of his mouth take a break. This would be so much worse. Ads on television and online praised their effectiveness. This would burn every inch of his mouth, his tongue, his lips, without any relief and he had no idea how long Kurt would make him endure it.

It terrified him.

He had every right to safeword and he knew that Kurt would respect it. But Kurt was feeling everything that Blaine had always wanted him to. Feeling in his gut that Blaine's behavior reflected on him. Proving Adam wrong. If he safeworded, who would be the one pretending then?

He didn't know how long he knelt there, turning the box in his hands, deciding to escape the pain then deciding to withstand it, over and over again. His mouth was already watering, his eyes already tearing up. When Kurt finally walked back into the room, closing the door softly, Blaine couldn't help but look up at him.

"Sir, I'm so sorry," he said, pleading.

"Save your apologies for the theater, Blaine."

"Please, Sir, I have enough in me for them and you." He looked down at the box and rolled it over in his hands. "This terrifies me," he admitted softly. "I thought you hated-"

"I changed my mind." Kurt's hands were on his hips and he offered Blaine no reprieve from his cold stare. Kurt's Dominance sparked and pulled at Blaine's submission. "If your words burn, your tongue should too. Are you telling me you don't deserve it?"

It was hard to move even a single muscle, but he managed to shake his head. "No, Sir. I deserve it."

"Now," Kurt said, taking a breath. "You wanted to explain earlier and I wouldn't let you. Now's your chance. Do you want to tell me what made your morning so bad that we're in this position right now?"

Blaine lowered his head. Adam was just an excuse, he knew it was. What he'd done had been unacceptable no matter what had happened to him earlier in the day. And a part of him wanted to keep what happened secret, didn't want Kurt to know what Adam was doing or hear the things that Adam had said about him. But didn't Kurt have a right to know? He belonged to Kurt. Wouldn't his Dom want him to tell that his ex-boyfriend was harassing his sub?

"During the morning rehearsal I had a break for about forty minutes so I went to the coffee shop around the corner to study my lines. And just after I sat down…Adam sat across from me."

Blaine looked up at Kurt through his lashes.

"Adam," Kurt said, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"Yes, Sir," he answered. "He said it must be hard. Not getting what I need from you. That you're just pretending to be a Dom."

Kurt nodded. "I see. Anything else?"

Blaine seriously considered lying. Then he looked at the box in his hands and knew that it would only make his punishment twice as bad. "He told me about you submitting to him. How he would tie you to the bed. How you would…" Just the words made him nauseous. "Beg for him." Blaine swallowed away his tears. "Whenever you talked about it, I still always imagined it as you and me. I never really pictured you…as a sub…before."

"Blaine," Kurt said, his voice softening. "I was not a sub."

"Don't do that Kurt, don't lie to me," Blaine cried. "He told me…he told me how much you let him control you. Tell you what to do."

"Blaine." Kurt's gaze hardened for just a moment, then he leaned back against the edge of the bed. "Sweetheart, that was the worst time of my life. My brother had just died, the world was spinning, and honestly, I needed to give over control to someone else. Someone who would tell me when to get up, when to go to bed. Make me eat. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done any of those things. Rachel was a mess, she couldn't do it and Adam was there for me. I never submitted to him Blaine, not in the way I'm sure he thinks I did. Not in the way you do. But he took care of me at a time when I couldn't take care of myself." Kurt looked at him and he lowered his eyes. "Maybe he remembers it differently."

"He does," Blaine whispered.

The room was quiet and Blaine thought for just a minute that maybe they could forget about the mistakes he'd made that day. But then Kurt got up and walked toward him. Blaine didn't dare lift his head, but Kurt reached out to his chin and raised it for him.

"So." Dominance suddenly surrounded him, pulling at his submission and Kurt's eyes grew cold again. "You disrespected your director, walked out of rehearsal, and risked our careers for your jealousy?"

"I wasn't…" Blaine lowered his eyes. He was kidding himself if he said he wasn't. He tried to swallow away the lump forming in his throat. "Yes, Sir," he said.

Kurt let go of his chin and walked around him. Blaine could feel Kurt staring at his back, but he didn't dare turn.

"Your jealousy is not cute other days of the week," Kurt decided.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't like him."

"This isn't about him Blaine, this is about you. I don't care if he called me every name in the book or told you that I knelt at his feet, it doesn't give you the right to disrespect anyone and most especially not your director. You will apologize in the morning."

Blaine knew as much. "Yes, Sir."

"I will go with you," Kurt told him. "Try to take back whatever reputation you may have thrown away."

"Yes, Sir." He shouldn't have expected otherwise.

"Now." Kurt circled him once more and stared down at him. Hands on his hips, he offered Blaine no reprieve from his harsh stare. "You had a choice to make. You have the right to safeword."

As much as Blaine knew he would hate this, they both knew his submission would never let him. "I won't, Sir."

"Hands behind your back then."

Blaine placed the box in front of him and folded his hands behind his back, not able to do anything but watch as Kurt peeled his clothes off slowly, one piece at a time. He wanted to touch, wanted to feel the soft heat of Kurt's skin. His mouth watered, but he knew it was a dangerous craving. There would be no pleasure in this tonight, not for him.

Kurt took the time to properly fold his clothing. Blaine could hear the quickening pattern of his heartbeat in his head as Kurt stepped toward him. His Dom reached out to him, grasping the hair on the back of his head in one hand, stroking himself with the other.

"We'll start without it," Kurt told him and at the tug of his hair he had no problem opening his mouth for his Dom. Kurt's cock filled him and he paid attention to the surfaces it touched like he never had before. Kurt rested heavy on his tongue, rubbed against his lips. If he hollowed his cheeks he could avoid that contact some, but he didn't think it would truly help him much. He wished Kurt would just fuck him or push deeply down his throat. Those were punishments he knew, that were familiar. But Kurt only gently slid in and out, thickening on Blaine's tongue.

"That's enough," Kurt said, pulling out long before his sub was ready and Blaine found himself chasing it. But then Kurt reached for the condoms and walked behind him where Blaine could not see without breaking position. He could hear the tear of the wrappers though, the protective one for Kurt's skin beneath the one meant to burn Blaine. He held his breath as he listened to Kurt roll them on.

"This is punishment, not pleasure, sweetheart," Kurt told him, as if he needed the reminder. "You'll tap my leg three times if you need a break. I'll ask your color. Green means we can continue after a short rest. Yellow means we stop, but you don't get relief. Red means we stop the burn. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," he barely managed to answer.

Kurt circled around him, carding his fingers through his hair and taking hold of it once more. Blaine couldn't help but look up at the man he loved and he wondered if what he saw in Kurt's eyes was his own fear reflected.

"Open," Kurt commanded.

Blaine's submission was pouring off of him, fueling Kurt's Dominance, but there was an obvious push and pull that rarely did they ever feel – Blaine trying to withhold his submission, Kurt demanding it.

"Open," he ordered once more.

Blaine's gaze fell from Kurt's eyes to his cock, sheathed in red, a warning that this was not just an ordinary condom. He flashed back to every punishment he'd ever received, from Kurt, his father, Santana, even Elliott, and he wished he was anywhere but here. If Kurt told him he could be spared if he crawled to get the humbler, still sitting unused in the closet, he would go in an instant. Kurt didn't tell him that though.

His Dom was getting impatient. "I need your obedience or your safeword Blaine, but either way you need to open your mouth."

There was another tug on his submission, his hair, and this time his jaw. Kurt was not going to let him just kneel there, staring at his cock, paralyzed by fear. He deserved this, he knew he did. Even though he'd said much worse to other people, he'd never attacked someone who had their very livelihoods in his hands.

He let his jaw drop, just a little, but it was enough for Kurt to press his cock to the space between Blaine's lips. He darted out a tongue, just a single taste to try and gain his bearings. It hurt, but nothing more than the gum and he let his jaw drop open enough for Kurt to press himself inside.

Kurt wasn't gentle, dragging the tip of his cock over Blaine's tongue until it reached the back of his throat. Blaine didn't want to close his mouth, but Kurt pushed one hand against the back of his head and with the other he swiped his thumb along Blaine's lips, closing them around his cock.

The condom's heat started as a moderate burn, restraining itself just enough to lull him into a false sense of security. He moaned and swallowed and thought that he might just get through this fine when the fire started to build, first on the sensitive corners of his mouth, then his lips, and finally his tongue. And as if a spark had burst into flame, it scorched his mouth, begging to be extinguished. Kurt moved, slowly slipping in and out, rubbing the heat back and forth over his tongue, against his lips. Sweat beaded from his forehead, saliva drooled over his chin and the tears, the tears in his eyes flowed down his cheeks. His head started to spin and his throat was raw, his chest ablaze with every attempt to breathe. He tried to count, to withstand the pain as long as he could. Sooner than he wished, he had no choice but to swallow and he felt the burn go down his throat into his stomach and he gripped Kurt's legs at the churning in his belly.

He couldn't have begun to say how long it had been, but he knew he couldn't take it anymore. This was far worse, more painful and more humiliating, than the gum had ever been and he tried to cry and beg and even scream around Kurt's cock but he didn't even know if he was making a sound. All he knew was that he needed it to stop.

He tapped Kurt's leg at least three times, his heart filled with humiliation at his failure but his head begging for relief. He gasped for breath when Kurt pulled out. "Yellow," he begged, hoping the words he was yelling in his head were forming on his lips despite the swelling he felt. "Yellow, please."

Kurt pulled him to his hip, stroking his now wet hair, holding him close while Blaine cried. Blaine soaked up the gentleness he finally felt and heard again. "Shhh, it's okay, you're okay, sweetheart. Such a good boy. Such a good boy for me."

The fire didn't stop, the tears and the drool didn't stop but the fear that had started to overtake him slowly ebbed at the sound of his Dom's voice, the feel of his soothing hands.

"I know it hurts, Blaine, but if you can I need you to use your patience and willpower to deal with the pain, so you can remember to use that patience and willpower in the future, even when things hurt so much you want to make it stop."

"I'm sorry," Blaine cried but he tried to take Kurt's words to heart. He took his own anger and hurt out on others and he needed to learn how to sit with it, accept it.

He felt Kurt's fingers beneath his chin and he lifted his lids. "From now on Blaine, when anger and bitterness want to come out in words, you come to me and you tell me what's wrong." Kurt brushed his thumb against Blaine's cheek. "I want this to be the last time, Blaine. Over and over again we go through this. Your temper will someday get you into more trouble than we can even imagine unless we can figure out how to get you to think before you lash out."

Blaine tried to answer, but he couldn't get his mouth to work right. Kurt understood. "Get ready for bed, sweetheart. I'll join you in a minute."

Kurt grabbed his robe and went to the bathroom in the hall, offering Blaine the privacy to brush his teeth and change and let the humiliation and lessons of what had just happened sink in. When he climbed into bed, his body ached, and not only from the pain.

Kurt turned off the light and slid in next to him. Blaine curled into his arms, resting his head on Kurt's chest. "Adam isn't something you need to worry about, Blaine," he said softly, caressing his temple to soothe him. "Whatever we had was a long time ago and I don't want you thinking it's something that can hurt us now. Okay?"

"Okay," Blaine whispered and he tried to fall asleep. He wanted to believe Kurt, but Blaine had seen something in Adam's eyes. And he didn't think it would be okay at all.

---

Blaine had fallen asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow. Tomorrow Kurt would take Blaine to apologize, try to salvage whatever he could of their reputation. But tonight. Kurt lay hitched on his elbow, unable to sleep, brushing Blaine's soft curls from his face. All his Dominance had drained from his body and he could feel the regret trying to take hold. But he wouldn't let it. Not this time. Even in sleep, Blaine's quiet submission reached for him, tickling his senses, and Kurt wanted more of it. He wanted all of it. His love, his trust, his truth and most importantly, his respect.

His head told him no. That he had been kidding himself, the fight would be too much for all of them. But his heart…love flared straight from it, surrounding Blaine, latching on to his submission. And he wanted him. All of him. Snuggling in, holding Blaine in his arms, the need Kurt had was almost painful. The need to love and to care for and to protect.

And control.

No one understood, least of all him.

All he understood was that he didn't know much longer he could hold on like this. He was scared. He was scared of what lay beyond the fight. He was scared they would lose more than they would gain.

But he was just as scared of living the rest of his life this way, constantly denied the entirety of what belonged to him.

Blaine belonged to him.

Every new line they had crossed, every limit they had broken, every barrier they had overcome, had been entirely in their hands. This one wasn't.

And no one could tell him what would happen if they tried to cross it.

~S~

See the light as it shines on the sea? It's blinding
But no one knows, how deep it goes
And it seems like it's calling out to me, so come find me
And let me know, what's beyond that line, will I cross that line?